American scientists declare chimpanzee named Oscar nearest to man, in Lucerne, Switzerland. The chimpanee dressed in a tuxedo sits comfortably at a white table-cloth set table and eats food with a fork. He then pours tea in a cup, adds sugar, stirs and drinks all in his cup. He then proceeds to drink directly from the tea pitcher spout. Next, he lights his own cigar and smokes it.

The last portion of Emma Lazarus’sonnet,"The New Colossus," is shown as engraved on a tablet inside the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Illustrations of immigrants arriving and felling trees to build dwellings in America. Reenactments of early English, Scottish, and Dutch settlers building houses and working at crafts in New England. Italian sulphur mine workers in Louisiana. Immigrants, from France and Switzerland, planting vineyards in California and New York State. Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes, sowing seed and cultivating crops in the Midwest. Polish and Welsh immigrants in American coal mines. African Americans harvesting cotton on farm fields in the United States south, including a woman with her baby riding on her long collecting bag. A Spaniard on horseback in the Southwest. Mexicans working in Texas oil fields and on ranches of New Mexico. Greek and Portuguese fishermen with huge catches of fish. A German technician working with fine instruments. Hungarian and Russian immigrants working in steel mills. Irish, Slavs, and Chinese, building railroads. Closeup of lumberjack's axes and saws cutting trees. A forge and a blacksmith shoeing a horse with horseshoes. A woman at work with a spinning wheel. Railroad ties and rails being placed. An antique railroad workman's locomotive and car. Men installing telegraph wire on rough poles. An antique steam locomotive pulling a freight train. Cowboys on horseback rounding up steers. Herds of cattle,sheep, and pigs, bound to market. Farmers tilling soil with horse-drawn cultivators, preparing tobacco leaves for drying, and loading cotton bales. Machines spinning thread in a textile mill or factory. Fabric weaving machines at work. An early steam boat underway in a river. Early model automobile driving on dirt road. Wright Flyer airplane in flight with several persons on board. Early tractors and harvester machinery working on a farm. Glimpses of American industrial plants and transportation in rapid succession (some of it showing building of Hoover Dam and building of the Chrysler Building in New York City). Oil well drilling and a "gusher" oil well spouting oil upward. Steel mills, locomotive trains, and then a scientist in a laboratory working with beakers and a solution. Dynamite charges blasting away sides of mountains and gorges, and scenes of dam construction and dams opening to allow water gushing. Large electrical control levers being thrown to run electricity, and scenes of electric transmission towers and facilities. Natural gas storage areas. Golden Gate bridge under construction and high rise skyscraper buildings being constructed, including the Chrysler Building circa 1930 while still under construction in New York City. Aerial view of New York City. Camera panning over the gravestones in Arlington National Cemetery.

A model Relief map of Western Europe, with country borders marked in red. Animals used in rural areas. Italian farmers transporting milk cans and other things by donkey. A farm wagon being pulled by a horse. Road through the Simplon Pass, in Switzerland (constructed by Napoleon to transport artillery between the Rhône valley and Italy). Views of the mountainous area. Sketch of early English steam railroad train and of others in other countries, embraced enthusiastically by the local citizenry . Illustrations recording construction of the Britannia bridge across the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. (It opened March 5, 1850.) Relief map of Europe focuses on Basle (Basel)in Northwest Switzerland. A modern-day signpost showing directions to France, Germany, and Switzerland. Freight trains arriving and cargoes being transferred by cranes of the Canal Barge operating company, Schweizerische Reederei. View of open storage yards, rail lines and a river. Freight trains carrying various loads to many different European destinations. Wrecked transport facilities left from World War II.

The U.S. and Swiss hockey teams line up and salute each other with their hockey sticks at the start of the first ice hockey game of the 1948 Winter Olympics, in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The game commences and camera catches much of the skating and scoring activity. At one point, the beautiful mountains and Olympic buildings can be seen in the background. (The game was won by Switzerland, 5 to 4.)

Beavers at a zoo in Zurich, Switzerland. Aerial view of several buildings in Berne, Switzerland. Beavers in an enclosure at the zoo. A baby beaver swims in a pool while the adult beaver swims behind and brings it onto shore by holding it in its mouth. The adult beaver keeps the baby beaver on the shore.